Friends
by meleth78
Summary: Kakashi and Iruka discover what's underneath the underneath. Set in the current manga timeline, Naruto has just returned, 2.5yrs later. Spoilers for Ch246.


Title: Friends by Meleth78

Genre: Romance/Angst

Characters: Kakashi, Iruka

Rating: PG

Status: One shot. Not related to any of my other stories.

Comments: Spoiler for Ch 246 of the manga where Kakashi once again tests Naruto & Sakura with the bells. This scene is set after the test which I'm sure Naruto would describe in great detail to Iruka.

Disclaimer: They want to be mine, but they are not. No one cares how THEY feel.

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'Guess what I heard?' Iruka grinned impishly as he landed, soundless, on the rooftop where Kakashi was sprawled out reading the latest installment of the Icha Icha series. It was late in the evening, the strong breeze had mussed up the jounin's silver-white hair giving him a more tousled apprearance than he usually bore. The rooftop presented the two shinobi a spectacular view of the horizon, as the diminishing sun rays streaked the sky with orange and red.

Kakashi gave a half-hearted glare up at the chuunin standing above him, casting a shadow over the pages of his book. Even though the silver-haired jounin knew exactly what he younger man was going on about he couldn't resist the infectious laughter that sparkled irrepressibly in the dark eyes above him. Deciding to allow the academy sensei his fun, Kakashi slowly drawled,

'What?'

'I heard that a certain jounin sensei got his two little bells stolen from him. And by two teenage upstarts no less.' Continued the dark haired man, unable to keep a delighted smirk from appearing on his handsome face.

Barely refraining from tossing out a crude joke about at least being able to keep his balls intact, Kakashi started slightly as Iruka casually plopped down beside him, softly bumping against the jounin's left shoulder as he made himself more comfortable.

'Well, what do you have to say for yourself O-jounin-sama?' Iruka teased. The young sensei had drawn both his knees up to his chest and was idly rocking back and forth as he peered sideways at the quiet man next to him. The lower portion of Iruka's face was hidden in his arms that rested on his knees. Kakashi guessed that the chuunin was probably biting his lower lip to keep his laughter at bay.

'Naruto's gotten a lot faster in two years' began Kakashi, shifting about a little, sitting next to the young teacher rather than sprawling out.

'Hmmm…' replied Iruka pressing his face harder into his arms, still rocking lightly.

'And the Hokage taught Sakura how to harness her chakra to increase her strength by a phenomenal amount' continued the silver-haired man.

'Mrumphhhh' was the sound that emerged form the dark haired man next to him. Kakashi didn't have to look to sense that Iruka's shoulders were shaking slightly. By now, the younger man had buried his entire face in his arms.

'And they remembered what I told them about teamwork….ah,shut up' muttered the pale man as Iruka's entire body began to shake.

'You…' choked out the academy sensei, finally looking up at the disgruntled face of his companion, 'you were...' he gasped, 'you were defeated by PORN!' Full-blown laughter flowed from the younger man in peals as he wrapped his arms around his belly in his attempt to gain some semblance of control.

'I'm going to throw you off the roof if you don't stop' mumbled Kakashi darkly, shoving the tanned man next to him with his shoulder.

'Naruto…Naruto almost shot ramen out of his nose when he told me' chuckled the chuunin pressing his palms against his cheeks as he fought down another wave of laughter at the memory. The blonde teen had been so excited. _Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei! Let me tell you about that sukebe Kakashi-sensei! _

'I'm going to kill that brat'

'But you're glad he's back' said Iruka, a soft smile replacing the wide grin that had been plastered on his face.

'Hmmm. He's grown up quite a bit' answered the jounin.

'He looks happy'

'I hope so' a pause before Kakashi continued, 'You should have seen them Ruka.' The words of a proud teacher.

There was silence as both men sat comfortably side by side, shoulders not quite touching as they watched the last rays of the sun slowly disappear from the sky.

'You're going to be busy soon' said Kakashi, breaking the silence. He didn't look at Iruka as he spoke, continuing to watch the darkening sky.

'Hmm?'

'The new term is starting isn't it?'

'Yeah. But with the Naruto back, it's not like you'll be hanging around reading porn all day either…oh wait...'

'I could kill you easy you know. Dispose of your body so that no one will ever find it.'

'But you won't' Iruka's lips quirked, mischievous.

'Wanna bet on it?' replied the pale man, turning his head ever so slightly to glower at the man on his left.

Iruka smiled confidently before sticking his tongue out at the older man.

'One of these days I'm going to get you when you do that.'

The young sensei wisely kept quiet but the smile on his face grew into a grin. Again both men lapsed into an easy silence. The sky was completely dark now. The street lights of the Kohona village the only source of illumination. This time it was Iruka who spoke.

'Guess we won't be meeting so often either' said the chuunin, soft. It was peaceful night.

A pause. Then,

'Why not?' asked Kakashi

Iruka turned looked at the silver-haired man and found the single exposed blue eye fixed on him.

'Eh? The kids…'

'I didn't realize they had anything to do with this.' There was a discernable harshness to the jounin's tone that confused Iruka.

'I just meant...'

'I know what you meant' Kakashi all but snapped as he stood up, brushing off the seat of his pants. He shoved his book into the pack at his back, testily closing the catch.

Iruka stumbled slightly, scraping his palm as he hurriedly stood, grabbing on to Kakashi's arm before the other man could leap off the roof.

'What…why are you angry?'

'I'm not.'

'We'll both be busy, that's all I meant'

'Fine.' Replied the older jounin, not looking at the dark haired man. 'I'll see you around then.' He tried to pull away from Iruka who jerked Kakashi's arm harder in retaliation.

'Don't give me that crap. I know you better than anyone and…'

'Do you?' This time the pale jounin swung around to face the startled young sensei. The look in his eye was challenging.

'I do. At least I think I do. We're…friends aren't we? Good friends.' Came the hesitant reply. When Kakashi continue to stare at him, silent, Iruka continued,

'I know you knew that the great Kakashi-sensei being defeated by Icha Icha Tactics would give the kids a high. Maybe allow them to forget that Sasuke wasn't with them, at least for a while. You might not have planned it, but I'm pretty sure you could have stopped it if you really wanted to. But you didn't.'

Kakashi had turned away again while Iruka was speaking, but he no longer seemed like he was going to leap off the roof to escape the younger man. Iruka stepped closer to the jounin, his hand which had been gripping tightly onto Kakashi's sleeve gentled. This time the young sensei tugged lightly on the cloth as he called out the copy nin's name.

'Kakashi' A plea.

'How can you say you know me when you've never seen this?' The pale man used his index finger to tap at the face hidden behind the dark mask.

'I wouldn't ask you to do that. You know that.'

'No, you wouldn't' Bitter.

'I know you don't like it when people…' continued Iruka growing confused at the way his friend was behaving.

'I didn't realize you were "people"'. Came the sharp reply.

'I'm…' Iruka broke off, not knowing how to continue. 'Do you want me to ask?' Perplexed.

'Do what you like' Petulant this time. Iruka was growing increasingly irritated with the older man. Kakashi was speaking in half truths and riddles, saying something but not quite coming out and saying it. The chuunin knew that the older man was not above sulking to get his way. It wouldn't be the first time either. What a surprise it would be to his many admirers at the academy and in the village to know that the heroic Sharingan Kakashi wasn't above behaving like a bratty three-year-old. But then, you couldn't blame them, Iruka had never seen Kakashi behave like that with anyone other than him.

Wait.

Kakashi never behaved like that with anyone other than HIM. Kakashi was mad because he thought that Iruka had said HE wouldn't be able to spend time with the jounin. Kakashi was pissed because HE grouped himself with the rest of the other 'people'. Iruka shook his head slightly as a rueful smile touched his mouth. They were both idiots who didn't deserve to be considered shinobi. Look underneath the underneath was what the older man had always said to him. The young sensei finally understood.

Iruka released the hold he had on the jounin's sleeve and moved in even closer to the other man. Kakashi froze as the chuunin reached up both hands and softly cupped his cloth covered face. The younger man then tip-toed every so slightly and brushed his nose lightly against the tip of Kakashi's, before placing a sweet, chaste kiss on the masked cheek. Iruka then rested the side of his face against the other man's and murmured,

'Idiot. You drive me crazy sometimes.' Taking a breath, the young sensei hooked his fingers on the edge of the dark material and pulled it down. He exhaled sharply.

Kakashi was beautiful. The jagged scar ran down further than Iruka had expected, reaching all the way to the jounin's jaw line. But other than that, the man had flawlessly pale skin. Almost translucent. The younger man ran his finger-tips wonderingly over the smooth skin he had exposed, touching, caressing for the first time. Kakashi shuddered, closing his eyes.

'I hate the man that did this to you' whispered Iruka as he pushed away the hindering hitai-ate and placed soft kisses along the length of the scar, all the way from Kakashi's closed eyelid to his tense jaw.

'Ruka' the older man whispered in return, his pale hands shifting up to slide across the chuunin's face, cupping his cheeks. Firm. Gentle.

'I love you you know. I'm sorry I've never said' continued the young teacher pressing his nose into the other man's jaw, breathing in deeply. It was a familiar scent, one that he had come to know well over the past two years. He never really noticed it before, just how wonderful Kakashi smelled.

'Ruka' breathed the jounin again as he tipped his silvered head down and pressed his mouth against the young sensei's. Kakashi traced the shape of the chuunin's lower lip with his tongue before nipping gently, playfully. Iruka groaned, impatient as he pushed his hands into the silver-white hair and pressed his mouth harder against the older man's. He parted his lips and allowed Kakashi entrance. Warm. Wet. Dizzying. Two lean bodies pushed hard against each other. Both men were gasping when they parted.

A moment passed and then Iruka laughed as Kakashi rested his forehead against the young sensei's. It was a joyous sound.

'What's so funny?' murmured the pale man nuzzling the silky skin of Iruka's cheek.

'We should tell the kids this. Bet it'll distract then even more than your obsession with porn.' The younger chuunin sniggered as he peeked at the older man. The last thing he saw was Kakashi's smirking face as he was tossed off the roof.

THE END


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